


A Good Kind of Trouble

by pinn



Category: Sports Night
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-20
Updated: 2010-01-20
Packaged: 2017-10-06 12:45:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinn/pseuds/pinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the problem with working with these people. There are times when it's like a normal workplace, and then there are times when it's so surreal and absurd that Kim feels like she's in the middle of a Woody Allen movie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Good Kind of Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Man, this was hard. [](http://algernon-mouse.livejournal.com/profile)[**algernon_mouse**](http://algernon-mouse.livejournal.com/) assured me that this was amusing in all the right places while [](http://tarteaucitron.livejournal.com/profile)[**tarteaucitron**](http://tarteaucitron.livejournal.com/) checked my canon and [](http://shoshannagold.livejournal.com/profile)[**shoshannagold**](http://shoshannagold.livejournal.com/) whipped it into shape.

Four cosmopolitans after Calvin Trager climbs onto the bar at Anthony's and gives a stirring speech about how great the show is and how excited he is to take Sports Night to the next level, Kim takes an informal survey of the bar.

To her left, Dana's flirting with their new boss, or at least doing something that resembles flirting. The woman seriously has no moves. On Kim's right, Danny's trying to get over Rebecca by laughing at a joke Alison just made and slowly slipping his arm around her waist. Jeremy and Natalie are pressed against the wall by the bathroom like they weren't at each other's throats two weeks ago.

Kim shakes her head. At this rate, everyone but her will be going home with someone tonight. Maybe it's the vodka talking, but Kim feels that's a situation that needs some serious remedying.

Across the table from her, Casey's staring into his glass. There are circles under his eyes but he's got the same expression as everyone else, a mixture of disbelief and excitement like he can't believe that he still has a job to go to tomorrow.

"Casey," Kim calls out.

He looks up and smirks. "Kim."

"Why haven't we ever had sex?"

"Excuse me?"

"You and me." Kim points at him and then at herself. "Sex. Why not?"

Casey leans back and scrunches up his face. After a moment, he looks at her again and says, "I got nothing. There is absolutely no good reason as to why you and I haven't had sex."

"I know." Kim props herself up on her elbow. "We should fix that tonight."

Casey laughs and stands up. "Kim, not that I'm not flattered by your idea but I think I've got a better idea." He digs in his pocket and throws some bills on the table. "Why don't we get you home so you don't proposition a complete stranger or, worse, one of the West Coast Update guys?"

Kim stands up as well, holding onto the table the whole time. "There aren't enough martinis in the world to make any of the Update guys attractive. And, I'm not trying to sleep with a stranger, Casey. I'm trying to sleep with you."

"What about Danny?" Casey wraps an arm around her shoulders and turns her in the direction of the door.

"Danny's too busy freaking out over Rebecca." Kim's trying to be patient, she really is, but Casey's making this much harder than it needs to be.

"So he is." Casey gets them past the crowd of people, out the front door and on to the sidewalk. "Can you stay here while I get a cab?"

Kim flaps her hand. "Sure."

A few minutes later, there's a gentle pressure on her back as Casey ushers her into the cab. Casey says nothing during the ride, just rests his hand on her knee and squeezes it whenever they go over a bump. At her building, he pays the cabbie even as Kim's trying to press money into his hand and the gets on the elevator with her.

"I thought you weren't going to sleep with me." She leans against the wall and smiles.

"I'm not," Casey replies. "I'm walking you to your door to make sure that you get home safely."

They get off the elevator and, as they walk down the hallway, Kim says, "See, that's one more reason to like you, Casey. You're always a perfect gentleman."

Casey blushes. "Kim, I think you might be surprised at the type of gentleman that I am."

Kim unlocks her door and goes inside but, before she closes the door, she turns around and sighs, "Promises, promises, Casey."

"Goodnight, Kim."

Kim peels off her clothes as she walks to her bedroom, letting everything stay where it drops. Her bed is unmade and she falls onto it gratefully. There's a dim little voice telling her to get up drink some water or at least brush her teeth but it shuts up when she rolls over.

 

* * *

 

Kim almost hopes that she's died and gone to hell because her room won't stop buzzing and she can't think of a worse punishment for all eternity than this. After a few seconds, she realizes that she's not in hell and that there's someone at her door.

She stumbles to the door, shielding her eyes from the sunlight flooding her apartment, and looks out the peephole. At the sight of Casey on her doorstep, Kim remembers everything she said the previous night. Before she can give into the urge to slam her head against the door, she runs her hands through her hair to smooth it down and opens the door. "Yes, Casey?"

Casey looks at her and laughs. "I thought you might need some supplies." He holds up a large bottle of Evian and a small bottle of Tylenol.

"Oh my god, Casey, I think I love you." Kim grabs the water and starts chugging it. As she shifts the bottle to her arm and attempts to open the Tylenol, Casey clears his throat.

"There might be another reason I came over." He stops talking and takes the Tylenol package away from her.

"Another reason?"

"Another reason." Casey isn't looking at her, his attention focused on trying to open the childproof lid on the little bottle.

Kim's eyes are aching, her head is pounding, and she's pretty sure standing upright isn't going to be an option for much longer. "In case you couldn't tell, Casey, I'm in no shape for verbal acrobatics right now. Just say it."

"Last night you asked why nothing's ever happened between you and me."

"I did."

"I didn't answer you because you were drunk."

"But now I'm sober, albeit incredibly hungover."

"Yes."

"So..."

"So." Casey took a deep breath. "The simple reason is that it's never been the right time, I've had my stuff to deal with and you've had yours. But I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not attracted to you, Kim. If you want to make now the right time, I'd make it the right time. However, if you decide that you want to chalk all this up to five martinis, I'd understand."

"Four martinis."

Casey grins. "I stand corrected."

"Okay, I need those drugs now."

He hands the pills to her, and she puts them in her mouth but doesn't swallow them. They dissolve on her tongue, acrid and chalky, as she looks at Casey without saying anything.

They stand in silence for a minute, and then Casey says. "So I'll see you at work later."

Kim nods and reminds herself to swallow as Casey steps out of her entrance way and walks towards the elevators. She closes the door and leans on it. This, she thinks, is why she doesn't usually drink cosmos. They cause nothing but trouble. Sometimes it's the bad kind of trouble, like the time she woke up naked in Long Island, in bed with her best friend. Sometimes, though, it's the good kind of trouble. This seems like it might be the good kind of trouble.

If Kim's honest with herself, the only reason she tried to hook up with Casey last night was because she didn't want to go home alone. It was all about convenience. But now, in the very bright light of day - and she really needs to remember to close the drapes every once in awhile - she's wondering if it really was convenience or if it was her giving voice to something she's thought about for years.

She walks toward the bathroom, kicking her clothes from last night into a pile as she does. She's always thought that Casey was cute and smart, and that there might be a little spark between them. But, because of his divorce and then that thing with Dana, Kim's never really let those thoughts develop into anything except daydreams to get her through long meetings.

The more Kim thinks about it, the more she's convinced that all of this might be a good kind of trouble.

 

* * *

 

By the time she gets into the office, Kim's head has stopped trying to explode and she's got a plan for dealing with Casey. She's read most of her e-mail, automatically deleting all the congratulatory ones, before she realizes that Elliot's staring at her.

"Can I help you, Elliot?"

"No but maybe Casey can." Eliot leers.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know, maybe Casey can help you."

"Help me what?" And, look, here comes her headache again.

"Everyone saw you two leave Anthony's last night. He was in late this morning, and you're in even later, looking a little worse for the wear. It's okay, Kim, office hook-ups happen all the time, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Shut up, Elliot, before I'm forced to get one of the gaffers to pull your tongue out of your mouth."

Elliot holds up his hands and turns back to his computer. At least that explains why everyone keeps giving her funny looks. Kim shakes her head and tries to get back to her e-mail. Before she can figure out why Jeremy wants to do a feature about a high school football team in Dillon, Texas, she gets an e-mail from Dana, asking Kim to come by her office.

Dana's flipping through ESPN magazine when Kim walks into her office.

"Heavy reading?" Kim gestures to the magazine.

"Just trying to keep up with the competition. Sit, sit. Kim, I want you to know that I've given what I'm about to say a lot of thought and consideration."

"Are you firing me, Dana?" Kim had been feeling pretty confident about her job after Calvin's big speech last night but now she's not too sure.

"No. God, no. You're an essential part of this show." Dana gets up and comes around her desk. "I just wanted you to know that I heard about you and Casey and while I'm surprised, I'm not hurt. Casey's a grown man, and we've both moved on."

Judging by the hickey on Dana's neck, Kim would say that she's done more than move on but she doesn't do so. Instead she says, "Nothing happened between Casey and me."

"It's okay, Kim. I'm not asking if anything happened. You guys don't need everyone in the office interfering in your relationship. I just wanted to give you my blessing."

Kim's learned a lot working at Sports Night but the most important thing she's learned is that sometimes it's best to just smile and nod when Dana talks. "Well, thanks. We'll be sure to keep that in mind. Do you need anything else?"

"Nope. We've got our show back and it's time to enjoy it."

Dana stands up as Kim does and leans forward like she's coming in for a hug. Kim steps back and says, "Great, see you at the rundown."

She heads for the bathroom as soon as she gets out of Dana's office, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the hallway, and stares at herself in the mirror. This is the problem with working with these people. There are times when it's like a normal workplace, and then there are times when it's so surreal and absurd that Kim feels like she's in the middle of a Woody Allen movie.

As she's washing her hands, Kim makes a decision. If everyone already thinks that something's going on, they might as well go on a date. There's no point in everyone gossiping about her if there isn't a grain of truth in it.

 

* * *

 

Natalie tracks her down in editing a couple of hours later. Kim's surprised that it took her so long. "I thought you'd be waiting for me when I got off the elevator this morning," she says as Natalie walks into the room.

"I would have but I'm still recovering from last night. Delays are to be expected, Kim." Natalie slams the door behind her and they both wince. "Sorry about that," Natalie says, leaning on the counter. "So, do I even have to ask or are you just going to tell me about you and Casey?"

"There's nothing to tell. He took me home when he realized that I was drunk and about to make a fool out of myself. Hey, do you really think our viewing audience cares about the outcome of a regional cricket match in India?"

Natalie smiles her 'you can trust me' smile but Kim's not buying it. "No, but I think we need to sell it so we can prove to Trager that we're multi-national. How long have you had a thing for Casey?"

Kim pops out the cricket tape and puts in the tape that's supposed to have last night's baseball highlights. "I don't have a thing for Casey."

"C'mon, Kim. You can tell me the truth about your thing for Casey."

Kim exhales and shakes her head. "Look, Casey is that guy and, thankfully, he was that guy for me last night."

"What guy?"

"You know. Danny's the guy you go to when you need someone to hook you up with the bouncer at a club. Besides, Danny's still weird over Rebecca."

"He slept with Allison last night," Natalie interrupts.

"And that magically cured him of his obsession with Rebecca?"

Natalie nods in agreement. "True."

"Casey's the guy you go to when you want advice on what to get your brother for his birthday, or when you need help getting home because you've had too much to drink and have started asking people to have sex with you." Out of the corner of her eye, Kim can see that there's definitely baseball highlights on the tape. Whether or not they're from the last night isn't really her problem.

"I've never really thought about it like that."

"Danny's great but he's just not relationship material, he's casual. Casey, on the other hand, Casey's not casual." Kim smiles. "It's sexy in a way."

"Ahaha! You think Casey's sexy!" Natalie crows.

Kim closes her eyes. "If I count to ten, will you be gone by the time I open my eyes again?"

"No. Answer the question."

"I said I thought Casey's view on relationships was sexy. Look, Natalie, here's the honest truth. I'm interested in Casey and I think he's interested in me. I'd like to go out with him but I'm not about to start picking out our china pattern. I'm still trying to figure it all out, and you and Dana and Elliot and everyone else aren't really helping. "

Before Natalie can answer, Dan walks into the room and says, "Natalie, Kim and I have something important to discuss. Please leave without exacting severe retribution on me later."

"I'll be sure to keep it to moderate retribution, Danny, but only because we're still celebrating today." Natalie gets up and heads to the door, patting Kim on the shoulder as she does. Before she leaves, she turns around and says, "Kim, you should say something because I won't."

Kim flashes Natalie a thankful smile before turning back to Dan. "Make this quick, Danny. Some of us are attempting to put a show together instead of re-enacting high school. You should try it."

"Did you or did you not leave Anthony's with Casey last night?"

"I did. Have you seen any highlight tapes other than cricket and baseball? None of the other tapes are ready so there's a chance you and Casey might have to spend the whole hour comparing and contrasting cricket and baseball." Kim's not entirely sure that this is what Calvin Trager had in mind when he was giving his pep talk last night.

"I realize that leaving the bar with someone does not necessarily mean that you went home with them. So. Did you go home with Casey?"

"Casey took me home." Kim slaps a label on the tapes and makes a note to check the time again. "So, we're just not worrying about tape for tonight. Is that what you're telling me?"

"Okay, okay. Leaving the bar with someone and having them escort you to your door does not preclude sex so let me ask you this - did you have sex with Casey?"

"Dan, I love you but I don't see how that's any of your business." Kim walks out of editing and Dan follows. "In a perfect world, you'd understand that me walking out of the room signals the end of the conversation."

"Seriously, you had sex with Casey?" Danny yells. "What about me?"

"What about you?" She thinks about pointing out that she and Casey didn't actually have sex but Kim knows better. Office gossip is more sacred than the Holy Grail and harder to discredit.

"I always thought we had something."

"Oh, really?"

"Really."

Kim laughs. "No, you didn't."

"Okay, maybe I didn't but this definitely means that I can't flirt with you anymore. Now, if I say hi to you, I have to worry about Casey challenging me to a street brawl."

Kim stops in the hallway and stares at Dan. "Has Casey ever challenged you to a street brawl?"

"No."

"Too bad," she shrugs. "That would be kind of hot."

"Hot because the two of us are fighting and chicks love it when guys fight?" Dan asks hopefully.

"No, hot because Casey would angry and forceful. Then, after he kicked your ass, he would drag me into the supply closet, and maybe pin my arms above my head while he gave me a hickey. We could have really raunchy sex against the ink cabinet."

"Jesus!" Dan puts his hands on his head. "Thanks a lot, the image of you and Casey having sex is going to be on a continuous loop in my head forever. If you'll excuse me, I need to go wash my brain out with soap."

Kim laughs and keeps walking through the bullpen. Some days, Danny makes it almost too easy. Casey's leaning against the door of his office, staring at her as she walks up.

"Hey. There's a chance you might spend tonight convincing the audience that cricket is about to become the next big sport."

"I'll make sure to brush up on the rules of the game so we can have a lively debate." Casey gestures in the direction that Dan ran off in. "What's got him all upset?"

"I don't know, we were just talking about street fighting and then he got weird." Kim smiles and shrugs. "Not as weird as Dana but definitely weird."

Casey's eye twitches just barely and he swallows before he asks, "Dana was weird to you? Was this today or is it everyday?"

"Well, this is Dana we're talking about. She's weird every day but today was definitely weirder." She's only got a limited time before Dan comes back. "So I've been thinking."

"And?"

"And I wouldn't be opposed to seeing where things could go."

"I'm sorry, Kim, I'll need you to be more specific. Are you referring to you and me, or are you referring to the Yankees' season?"

"After all these years, Casey, you still can't remember that I'm a Dodgers fan."

Casey taps his fingers against the doorframe and shifts from foot to foot. Just as Kim's thinking that Casey didn't understand her, he blurts out, "Look, I'm really bad at this. No matter what I say, there won't be enough compliments or I inadvertently insult a girl's whole family or I somehow compare them to my ex-wife, which I'm told is a turn-off. So, I'm just going to ask if you want to grab dinner after the show and not worry about anything else."

Kim tilts her head. "A date?"

"A date. What do you think?"

Kim lobs the tape at him and turns to go back to her desk. As she walks away, she says over her shoulder, "I think that you should make sure that those are last night's baseball highlights. I also think that you should meet me downstairs after the show."


End file.
